Orange Peel

Wednesday, November 11, 2009Me! In words

The past week or so has been real busy and so restaurant hopping did not really happen. But this past weekend we decided to make up and chose to visit Orange Peel, a restaurant that was suggested by a follower Aarti. I read a lot of other reviews of Orange Peel and the fine dining experience it provides and so was all ready to dive in.

This is going to be one long review, so I am going to dive straight in. Orange Peel is on Hospital Road in Shivajinagar and right opposite a wedding hall. On the day we went there, a wedding was on, and the valet parking attendant of Orange Peel seemed to be at the helm of affairs guiding wedding traffic. This left us, waiting in the car for his attention. It was raining and so I couldn't get down with my sleeping child to get to the restaurant. Hubby dear spotted the valet attendant's umbrella (which he has to use for guests) and ran to get it for. By then the guy came around, took the umbrella and got someone to park away our car.

Orange Peel had the Halloween festival going on so the decor was accordingly. No comments there. We were seated and told there was a buffet on. I was more keen on the a la carte but the waiter really seemed reluctant to get me the menu. Five minutes later he finally did but continued harping on the buffet. So we thought what the heck, let's do the buffet. Now in my opinion, buffets are also an opportunity for a restaurant to showcase the best or at least some of their signature dishes.

After we were asked whether we wanted regular or bottled water, we had to ask twice for water to be served at the table. We were told starters would come to the table and were served our choice of drinks - a mojito and an American Sweetheart which was peach, strawberry and vodka. Nice without being great.

Starters took the wrong side of 15 minutes to arrive and I really wondered at the quantity. We were three at the table. Yes Anoushka demands her own plate. There were two morsels of each of the non-veg starters in chicken, fish and lamb with a bowl of chutney. Nobody asked if we would like more and now come to think of it, am not sure they were supposed to. Same went for the veg starters. Tandoori corn was just couple of store-bought babycorn chargrilled on coal. The veg kurkure was nice. The bruschetta, I was surprised used regular tomatoes rather than cherry tomatoes and tasted as blah as what we had in Little Italy.

Garlic Bread

Non-veg starters

Veg starters

There was a live pasta and salad counter. And so I went there with some expectations. The lone ranger there wore a pretty dirty uniform and surgical gloves with an icky hole in it. So much for classy. There were just the basics of a salad - lettuce, sprouts and your choice of boiled chicken or lamb. I opted for chicken, pieces which the lone ranger practically counted and made sure were a miniscule few. I also asked for a lamb spaghetti in tomato sauce to be tossed up, same counting thing with the lamb. The salad came with only one very plain lemon dressing and so no choice there and the pasta was again okay and the lamb was like chewing gum. Nothing was spectacularly "Orange Peel" like I expected.

Lamb spaghetti and chicken salad with lemon dressing

Now for the limited range of main course. Peas pulao, aloo gobhi, dal methi. All nice. The Murgh bharta was so-so.

Peas pulao, aloo gobhi, dal methi

Next came the butter garlic noodles, and stir fried chinese green in black sauce. Noodles were as dry and cold as can be. The greens in the black sauce seemed to have marinated in it for it was soggy and tasted like soppu saaru with an oriental twist. There was also mustard chicken with dill and capers. Chicken and mustard yes, dill and capers didn't find them. Veg au gratin was ok.

Mustard chicken, butter garlic noodles, veg au gratin

Butter garlic noodles, greens in black bean sauce

And let's not talk of the "Murgh Dum Biryani". Dessert was two serving plates of pineapple cake on one and chocolate cake on the other.

Murgh Dum Biryani and Murgh Bharta

Dessert

And now for some more ranting. This measly buffet came at a approximately Rs 600 per head. Are you guys kidding me? For half that price, places serve triple the number of dishes that are piping hot and delicious. Neither was the food great, nor the service. Three other tables were full, and a particular one (not ours) seemed to be getting all the attention. I don't grudge them, but we too pay with the same colour money. The toilets are dingy with a leaky faucet. And to top it all off, when we paid and left to get our car from the valet, the gentleman was on his phone, he takes the key of the hook and points out that our car is parked right outside without once getting off the phone. And what cheesed me off, our car was NOT LOCKED!!!.

When you claim fine dining, at least make some attempt at it. The place is a disgrace in terms of food and service. BUT!! I have not yet given the a la carte menu a try and would like to do that, but the service has so put me off, that it will have to wait a while.

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Hi! Welcome to my blog on restaurant experiences and travel stories. The country's culinary landscape has made eating out a serious hobby. For me, it has provided brilliant inspiration to chronicle our experiences in the form of this online diary. I am not a critic but rather, will tell you what to expect as the average diner in places that range from hole-in-the-walls to those in star settings. I also believe travel and food go hand-in-hand; after all, what better way to experience a country than through its food. Do read, do share and do connect with me on ruth@bangaloresrestaurants.com

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Searching for a good restaurant in Bangalore? Let me help you. In my quest for something new to put on my plate, my tummy has seen the good, the bad and the ugly of Bangalore's offerings. Here is a peek at my gastronomic journey. Of course there is a lot more than just reviews.